Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How liver tests detect hepatitis in Labrador retrievers
By Dirksen, K et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2017·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Sensitivity and Specificity of Plasma ALT, ALP, and Bile Acids for Hepatitis in Labrador Retrievers.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Labrador retrievers, both healthy and ill, were tested for liver disease using blood tests that measure liver enzymes (ALT and ALP) and bile acids. Surprisingly, many healthy Labradors showed signs of liver inflammation, but the tests were not very effective at detecting liver disease in these dogs. While the tests had high accuracy in identifying dogs with liver issues, they often missed cases of hepatitis, especially in the early stages. This suggests that better tests are needed to catch liver problems sooner in dogs that seem healthy.
People also search for: Labrador liver disease symptoms · elevated ALT in dogs · liver disease tests for dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Biochemical indicators for diagnosing liver disease are plasma alanine aminotransferase activity (ALT), alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP), and bile acid concentration (BA). OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of ALT, ALP, and BA for detecting primary hepatitis (PH) in clinically healthy Labrador retrievers and investigate whether ALT and ALP can discriminate between dogs with PH and nonspecific reactive hepatitis (RH). ANIMALS: 191 clinically healthy and 51 clinically ill Labrador retrievers with hepatic histopathology. METHODS: Retrospective study. Medical records were reviewed for ALT, ALP, preprandial BA, liver histopathology, and hepatic copper concentrations. RESULTS: In 64% (122/191) of the clinically healthy Labrador retrievers, hepatic histology revealed inflammatory infiltrates. This frequency might be biased because part of them was included as first-line relatives of dogs with copper-associated hepatitis. Sensitivity of ALT, ALP, and BA in this population for detecting acute hepatitis was 45, 15, and 15%, respectively. For chronic hepatitis, sensitivity was 71, 35, and 13%, respectively. Specificity of ALT, ALP, and BA was >90% for AH, CH, and RH. When increased liver enzymes were present, median ALT was significantly higher in PH cases (312 U/L, range 38-1,369) compared to RH cases (91 U/L, range 39-139) (P < .001). There was no difference in ALP between dogs with a PH and a RH (P = .361). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Histopathologic abnormalities in the liver were present in the majority of apparent clinically healthy Labrador retrievers. The sensitivity of ALT, ALP, and BA for detecting acute and chronic hepatitis in this population was low. More sensitive biomarkers are needed for early detection of liver disease in apparent clinically healthy dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28543991/